through my lens, the image of you
by czqy
Summary: After his last day on set, professional photographer Lance receives a present from the subject of his photos, Keith. When he opens the gift, he finds out that he has been on the other side of the lens, for the model.


Lance has just stepped foot inside his house, and he's exhausted. He wants nothing more than to collapse and sleep for sixteen hours straight, except he promised a certain someone he'd open his present the moment got home.

He makes his way to his kitchen counter and takes out the package, after wrestling himself into a chair. The gift is neatly wrapped, he tests the weight, then inspects it from all sides. It's not heavy, nor intricate. It's simply rectangular. When he peels away the first layer of wrapping, he recognises what it is immediately. It's arguably one of the things he's most familiar with, after all—a photo album.

* * *

When Lance was assigned to the collaboration between Voltron and the Marmora, he was beyond excited. It was a huge deal; the two companies were considered the best in their respective fields, so having them work together meant a lot. Lance didn't know every detail, but there was a rumour circulating that they were doing a merger, and would become a larger organisation called 'The Coalition'.

More information was revealed later. The shoot would take place over several weeks, and on various sets. Photographers would be working with a single model the entire time, but they'll get together for group photos at the end. There weren't many restrictions or themes, just show off the location, and the model as well. Lance didn't love the fact he was given such freedom of choice, but figured he could work it out with the model, who he soon found out would be Keith.

Keith was the youngest model signed with the Marmora. He and Lance were around the same age, both thought to be 'prodigies', the ones who would lead their companies into a golden age. He was, of course, very attractive as well. Lance looked forward to meeting him, and to finding out what kind of a person he was.

* * *

The first location was a beach. It was beautiful—brilliant blue ocean, golden sand, picturesque plants. Lance didn't have any time to admire it though, because he was running late. He sprinted down the gravel path towards the equipment that had already been set up. He cursed, picking up the pace, thankful his camera wasn't on him.

When he finally arrived, he approached the person closest to him. They were behind a camera, so Lance couldn't recognise who it was, but that didn't matter.

"Hey, do you know where I'm supposed to go?"

"No. I don't know you."

This shocked Lance. It wasn't that he was conceited, but _everyone_ knew him. He felt like he was being demeaned.

"Who do you think you are?"

The camera was lowered, and Lance blanched. It was Keith. Keith, who had his hair tied in a low ponytail, wearing a black cap and a red shirt with white palm trees on it. Lance's face burned, but it wasn't from the sun, nor embarrassment. Although, he _did _want to launch himself into the ocean because of that.

"Uh…" Lance was at a loss for words. He had no clue how to apologise. "I didn't know you took photos." Lance mentally facepalmed himself. What was he doing?

"Yeah," Keith eyed him up and down, "I picked it up in my early days. It's nothing professional though, just a hobby."

"Ah. Well, sorry about that; you were, uh," Lance gestured vaguely, hoping it got his message across. He then held his hand out, "I'm Lance."

Keith looked at it, then up at Lance. There was a pause, during which Lance panicked, thinking he wouldn't take it, but he did. "I'm Keith," he replied, giving a firm shake.

* * *

Thankfully, Keith didn't seem to hold any grudges following that disastrous first meeting. He did get his revenge though. For one of their other shoots, they went to a mountain. Every other team stayed at the base, which provided plenty of scenery, but Keith decided he wanted to climb it, and take photos at the peak. It was a smart idea of course, and the view was breathtaking, but Lance suspects Keith just wanted to see him suffer. Lance isn't unfit, however hiking with all the required equipment was difficult.

The two of them actually get along very well. People were under the impression they didn't, because they got each other riled up all the time and were always bantering, but really, it was all in good nature.

The ongoing thing was about Keith's pictures. Lance would always ask to see them, to the point of pestering, because you could tell a lot about a person from the kinds of photos they took, and Lance was very curious about Keith, but the guy never relented. And then, as if to taunt Lance, he'd bring his own camera along to shoots and take pictures while they were there.

Lance was near devastated when the project ended, because it was the most fun he had on a job in ages, and, he'd started falling for the model. It was bound to happen, Lance supposed. Keith was a good-looking guy, and despite the occasional rash behaviour, he only had everyone's best interests at heart. The two already exchanged numbers, but Lance didn't know when they'd see each other next. Just before they bid farewell to each other, Lance jokingly asked if he could finally see Keith's photos now. Keith simply smiled, and handed Lance a present in lieu of a response. Lance didn't think much of it, and started to accept the fact he'd never see the pictures, but now…

He holds it all in his hands. After opening the photo album, Lance finds a note, written on the inside front cover. It reads:

'thought it'd be weird to gift you photos of my own stuff, but you were always asking to see, so here.

– k.'

Keith's handwriting, to Lance's delight, is scrawly. He _does_ find it endearing to look at—it's very him, but it's also comforting to know that not everything about him is beautiful. His photos, though… They're amazing. He said he wasn't a professional, but he could definitely go pro if he wanted.

* * *

Lance doesn't need to flip past the first page to know that Keith's a landscape photographer. Every single shot is scenic—of mountainscapes, of forests, of lakes and oceans. Most are in colour, but a few are black and white. A cityscape is featured occasionally—of different cities' skylines, of high-rise buildings during the night with lights as bright as stars.

There's a note next to each image, detailing when it was taken, and where. Most of the locations, Lance discovers, are places Keith has visited for shoots. He wonders if he'll see ones from theirs. Under that, Keith left little messages, describing the places and his experiences there.

'olkari; look at those trees, they winded in all sorts of shapes. the people made wood carvings, there may be one of me there.'

'altea; home to the beautiful juniberry flowers. I thought this grass field covered in pink with the mountains in the background really summed the scenery up.'

'naxzela; cool as architecture, super funky buildings. it was a ghost town though, eerily quiet. I was more than happy to get out of there.'

'kosmo; obviously not a place, just a very cute wild wolf I came across. wish I could've taken him home with me.'

One photo, when Lance reaches it, takes his breath away. He stops and stares at it, longer than any of the others, and recognises every single detail. It's his home. If he strains his ears, he can hear it in the distance.

'veradera beach; gorgeous place. I'm not someone who loves being in the heat, but I wanted to stay out there forever. the water reminded me of the colour of your eyes.'

The last statement brings a blush to Lance's cheeks, and butterflies to his stomach. He thinks that's the worst of it, but then he turns the page.

"What do you take photos of?" Lance asked once, early on. It was one of the only times Keith actually answered.

"Well, not people, that's for sure," Keith had replied, with a glint in his eye.

The statement wasn't true anymore. Because following the photo of beautiful ocean blues, the pages were filled with images of Lance. Most are candid shots—Lance looking off into the distance, or directing someone, or messily eating his lunch. He's surprised, honestly. For someone who's around cameras all the time, he sure sucks at noticing when one's on him. There are a few Lance recalls posing for, thinking it was joke. He can barely process it all right now. The notes, he can handle even less.

'first meeting; I'm a bit irked the picture is blurry, but I think it represents what happened really well. your first impression was memorable, to say the least.'

'after our eating contest; at first I wasn't sure what to think about you. you came off as cocky, but I realised that you had a right to be—you're good at your art. there was, of course, this side to you as well. I definitely won the competition, by the way.'

'ethereal; I was just supposed to call you to come back, but I was awestruck. I knew you were hot, but the way you looked standing at the top of the hill, with the breeze gently blowing your hair… that was something else. and in that moment, _you _were the model.'

'striking a pose; I already liked you by this point. you were funny, and witty, and I really liked spending time with you. that day I laughed harder than I have my whole life, I swear.'

Lance rereads the message over and over again, to make sure he's seeing it right. Keith _likes_ him. His feelings are mutual. He starts to look for his phone to contact him, but then he notices something.

The very last photo is missing. Lance does a quick flick through to make sure it hasn't fallen out, and checks that it isn't behind another. He starts to panic when nothing turns up, he doesn't want to have lost something, but then something written next to the empty space catches his attention.

'score!; I asked you out, and you said yes. this is the first photo of us as boyfriends.'

Lance nearly trips over his feet getting to where his phone is, but he manages to call Keith.

* * *

"Hello?" Keith's voice sounds raspy, and _shit_, Lance didn't think about time zones. He's sorry, but also, Keith sounds really good. His heartbeat increases.

"Hey, it's Lance."

"Oh, hey," Lance hears the smirk in Keith's voice, "I take that is a 'yes' then?"

"You haven't actually asked me yet, you know." Lance's voice trembles slightly, and he's stalling. He doesn't know why.

Keith hums, and Lance feels it rumble through the phone to his ear. "I suppose you're right." There's a beat, and then, "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes," Lance replies, exactly as the note says. It doesn't say he grins, but he's _beaming_.

"Alright. Where are you? I'll come over."

"What? You're—What? I'm in another country right now!"

"And? We have to take that photo, don't we?"

If there's one thing Lance has learnt about Keith, it's that he's adamant. There's no changing his mind, not that Lance wants to. "I guess so," he says, biting back another smile.

They hang up shortly after; Keith goes to catch the next plane out, and Lance impatiently waits for him. He wonders if Keith is bringing his own camera, but gets his out anyways. He also starts thinking about how to one-up this. Curse Keith, and his ingenuity. Lance will get him. In the meantime, there's a photo album to be completed, and a whole new adventure to be started.


End file.
